Queen's Rules

Tau

Battlesuits

Battlesuits(XV8"Crisis", XV88"Broadside", XV15"Stealth" and all other, all their modifications, possible patterns etc.) are vehicles and their use is governed by Pilot(Personal) Skill. Should it become relevant, they are classed as both Walker and Skimmer/Hoverer and have corresponding traits. The following exceptions are applied to the general rules of operating a vehicle when piloting a Battlesuit.

General

• The pilot makes all Skill Tests(except Pilot(Personal) obviously), tests his Characteristics and uses Talents&Traits as if his Battlesuit was a suit of armor and not a vehicle. This means that skills, talents and traits usable in normal combat(say Swift&Lightning Attack, Hard Target, Shadowing, Acrobatics) have the same effect with added benefit of Battlesuit's protection, armament and sensors.

Characteristics

• Armor of the battlesuit is also it's pilot armor for the purpose of Called Shots and other circumstances when it may become relevant.
• Battlesuits do not have Front, Rear or Sides. They have Head, Body, Arms and Legs instead.
• Damage of any hit that bypasses armor and structural integrity is immediately applied to the pilot to the same Hit Location.

Example: A shot from lascannon(Pen 10) hits a XV15"Stealth" Battlesuit in the body(Armor 8, Structural Integrity 8). It deals 45 damage, completely depleting Structural Integrity. Same 45 damage are now applied to the pilot, which surely means that both the heretechnical blasphemy and foul xenos operating it are now a smoldering ruin, as it should be.

• Crew is always "1 Pilot".
• Carrying Capacity is always "---", representing that battlesuit already carries all that it can - in the form of pilot, weaponry and various combat systems.
• Size: Hulking. This also confers "Size: Hulking(Trait)" to the pilot for the purpose of movement rates only. Due to advanced techno-heresy Battlesuit pilots never suffer any penalties to Move Silently and Concealment Skill Test due to the size of their Battlesuit.
• Battlesuits do not have Maneuverability Score, though any condition or circumstance that would affect the pilot's Agility Test, Strength Test or Movement Rates(Difficult Terrain, strong winds etc.) will also affect his Pilot(Personal) Skill Tests.
• Battlesuit also confers the following traits to the pilot: Unnatural Toughness(x2), Unnatural Strength(x2)

Movement

• The Battlesuit's Tactical Speed is it's pilot's Half Move(modified by his new Size). The Battlesuit's Cruising Speed is it's pilot's Narrative Time Move Rating(modified by his new Size).
• Battlesuits can engage in "Evasive Maneuvering" only while in Skimmer/Hoverer mode. While it is in Walker mode, this action is replaced by Tactical Advance(See "Playing the Game" section of any core rules book).
• Battlesuits can't "Floor It!". This action is replaced by Run(See "Playing the Game" section of any core rules book).
• Battlesuits can't "Ram". This action is replaced by Charge, using the pilot's Weapon Skill(See "Playing the Game" section of any core rules book). Attempting to Charge in Skimmer/Hoverer mode calls for a Challenging(+0) Pilot(Personal) Skill Test.
• Battlesuits have two modes - Walker and Skimmer/Hoverer and are always in one of the two. Pilot can switch between them as Free Action. If Battlesuit becomes unpowered for any reason(Haywire grenades, Tech-Scorn for example) while in Skimmer/Hoverer mode - it Crashes.

Combat

• Specific Weapon Proficiencies are required to fire weapons mounted on the Battlesuit.
• Battlesuit pilots do not suffer penalties to Pilot(Personal) Skill when attempting to dodge due to the size of their Battlesuit. Battlesuit still Crashes if this Pilot(Personal) Test is failed by five or more degrees.
• All Battlesuit weapons and systems count as having "Facing: All".
• If the pilot has any Talents or Abilities for use with Jump Pack or simply wishes so, he can treat his Battlesuit as Jump Pack and use it accordingly

All Battlesuits have the following profile format.

 


|Type: Tau Battlesuit(Walker or Skimmer/Hoverer)  |
|Tactical Speed: #                                |
|Cruising Speed: #                                |
|Structural Integrity: #                          |
|Size: Hulking                                    |
|Armor: Head #, Body #, Arms #, Legs #            |
|Crew: 1 Pilot                                    |
|Armaments:   Weapon    Range   RoF   Dam   Pen   | 
|           1st Weapon                            |
|           2nd Weapon                            |
|           3rd Weapon                            |
|Systems:                                         |
|                                                 |
|                                                 |

Armory

Battlesuit Gear

• Airbursting Fragmentation Projector: Treat as a Frag Grenade explosion with Blast(8) centered on the Battlesuit, that affects everyone in the blast zone except the Battlesuit that launched it. Activating this system requires either Reaction or Half-Action.

• Advanced Stabilization System: Confers the Auto-Stabilized Trait to the pilot.

• Blacksun Filter: Confers the Dark Sight Trait to the pilot.

• Command&Control Node: Confers the Disciplined(Horde) Trait to Tau combatants(but not Drones or Kroot beasts) under the pilot's command(if they are combined in a Horde). If said combatants are required to Test versus Fear or Pinning, the pilot can Test his Command Skill instead, with same modifiers. If said combatants are already Pinned or panicking, the pilot can attempt Command Skill Test to negate these conditions, but not if he already failed to prevent them in previous round; This is a Full Action. Also counts as encrypted Vox-Caster.

• Drone Controller: Allows the pilot to issue direct commands to nearby Drones via encrypted transmissions or directly control a number of Drones equal to his Intelligence Modifier, using his Ballistic Skill in place of that of the Drones and Tech-Use in place of their Dodge. Directly controlling the drones is a Full Action and issuing commands is a Free Action.

• Ejection System: See Deathwatch Core Rules book, pg. 366

• Failsafe Detonator: See Deathwatch Core Rules book, pg. 366

• Iridium Armor: Adds +3 to the Battlesuit Armor.

• Multi-Tracker: Enables the pilot to independently target and fire two of his Battlesuit's weapons without any penalties as if he had all required Abilities and Talents(meaning BS 40+, Ag 40+, Independent Targeting, TWW(Ballistic) etc.). If he does in fact has them, he can fire one additional weapon(but not the same weapon twice) mounted on his Battlesuit at -10 penalty to his BS.

• Shield Generator: Counts as a Power Field with a Protection Rating 55 and an Overload Roll 01-10, covering entire Battlesuit. Also adds +2 Armor to the Body and Hand it is mounted on. Shield Generator forbids the use of a weapon in the same hand. It can be used in close combat to Parry incoming melee attacks(treat as a weapon with Defensive and Power Field special qualities) but not to attack.

• Stealth Field Generator: See Deathwatch Core Rules book, pg. 367

• Stimulant Injector: Counts as Bio-Monitor And Injector(See Deathwatch Core Rules book, pg. 161). Can also administer other xeno-drugs as determined by GM. Obviously affects the pilot and not the Battlesuit.

• Target Lock: Counts as Astartes Targeter(See Deathwatch Core Rules book, pg. 174). Also confers Target Selection Talent to the pilot.

• Targeting Array: Counts as Astartes Signum(See Deathwatch Core Rules book, pg. 173) affecting the pilot and those under his command(including Drones but not Kroot beasts)

• Vectored Retro-thrusters: Allows the pilot to Disengage his Battlesuit from close combat as a Half-Action. Alternatively the pilot can attempt to Disengage as Reaction with Hard(-20) Pilot(Personal) Skill Test.